Was ex-cop Mike Sabin’s alleged repeat offending really almost too horrible for words?

Ex cop turned anti drugs campaigner, turned National Party MP, Mike Sabin hit the headlines a couple of days ago with Fairfax new Zealand newspaper the Sunday Star Times running a story exposing a police investigation that had until that point been kept under wraps.

Fairfax were soon followed by the New Zealand Herald, the intrigue however did not stop at the mainstream media. Leading the charge on the blogosphere front, as always, was Whale Oil blogger Cameron Slater who published a piece on the same day, soon followed closely by just about every other Kiwi blogger that we here at LF pay any attention to.

The Fairfax article that broke the story was probably the most informative and certainly provided most of the clues that bloggers other than Slater later rellied on:

National MP Mike Sabin in police assault inquiry

21 December 2014

Police have been investigating an assault complaint against government MP Mike Sabin.

The investigation is related to events in Northland, but detectives working on the case are based in Waitemata, north Auckland.

The investigation was moved south from Whangarei because Sabin was a police officer based there until 2006.

The officer in charge, Detective Inspector Kevin Hooper, refused to confirm Sabin was the subject of an investigation.

Prime Minister John Key is also not commenting. He and his office did not answer written questions:

when he was informed of the police investigation;
whether Sabin or someone else volunteered the information;
why he had not disclosed the matter to voters.
Sabin, 46, who has been in Parliament since 2011 and has a majority of more than 9000, has not returned calls seeking comment.

When approached Sabin at his Coopers Beach home, in the Far North, he immediately demanded the reporter leave his property.

“I have got nothing to say,” Sabin said.

Asked if he would comment on the police investigation, he replied: “No, no I have nothing to say – I want you to leave my property.”

A relative of a complainant also would not comment. “I can’t say much mate, sorry,” he said. “I just don’t need the grief at the moment.”

Police have tried to keep the investigation into Sabin quiet.

Detective Inspector Bruce Scott, the crime service manager for Waitemata police, referred inquiries related to Sabin to the police media section.

“We have no comment on any investigation that could or could not be happening,” he said.

Sabin gained national prominence as a campaigner against methamphetamine or “P”.

In 2006, after a decade with the police, he took leave of absence from the service to start a company that advised on the “P” problem. He was often interviewed by the media about “P”.’

Source: http://cluster-www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/64362474/National-MP-Mike-Sabin-in-police-assault-inquiry

Cameron Slater’s Whale Oil piece, whilst as alway short, simple and referencing the Fairfax article provided no obvious idea of what Sabin was being investigated for, other that the fact that it was an assault of some sort and that the National party would be dumping Sabin as soon as possible, Slater being in no doubt that there would be a by-election as a result.

Slater however did provide two very important but ever so subtle clues, insights which indicated to us here at LF that Slater himself was certainly aware of the nature and seriousness of the allegations that Sabin is now facing by noting that the alleged assault was “repeat offending“ and “almost too horrible for words“:

THE COMING BY-ELECTION IN NORTHLAND

21 December 2014

The National Party have been slow on the uptake, with the stories about Northland MP Mike Sabin’s repeated offending being known for about a month.

Police have been investigating an assault complaint against government MP Mike Sabin……

……….The story itself, which National have sat on for weeks, is almost too horrible for words, and there is little doubt that there will be a by-election in Northland.

This is the problem you get when you have an ethically challenged party hierarchy.

Source: http://www.whaleoil.co.nz/2014/12/coming-election-northland/

Your New Zealand also had a crack at determining the likely cause of the police investigation into Sabin, we suspect settling on the idea that the alleged assault may have been drugs related:

Mike Sabin and methamphetamine

22 December 2014

MP Mike Sabin is being investigated by the police for assault, and it appears that National are looking at possible replacements for him in his Northland electorate.

Sabin has a history of involvement in drug enforcement and education.

Before becoming an MP in 2011 Sabin was a police officer for ten years (including drugs detective) and then in 2006 founded a business called Methcon that somehow made money out of addressing the P problem. They described themselves as:

New Zealand’s only specialist methamphetamine education provider

Source: http://yournz.org/2014/12/22/mike-sabin-and-methamphetamine/

The Standard on the other hand took to scouring the many applicable New Zealand statutes, including the Crimes Act in an attempt to nail down the most likely offences that Sabin could be under police investigation for, at least those that would attract a penalty severe enough to see Sabin automatically lose his seat in the New Zealand Parliament:

Mike Sabin is in trouble

22 December, 2014

…….Secondly the talk of a by election suggests that the maximum penalty for the offence being investigated may be two years or more imprisonment, thereby triggering a vacancy in his seat under section 55 of the Electoral Act 1993. There are a variety of different types of assaults under the Crimes Act 1961 and the Summary Offences Act 1981. The maximum penalty for a Summary Offences Act assault is six months jail. Under the Crimes Act 1961 a straight forward assault has a maximum penalty of one year’s jail. It is only the more severe offences which include male assaults female or assault of a child, or assault or injuring or wounding with intent that would qualify as a vacancy creating offence. The apparent time taken with the investigation suggests that it is not of a minor nature.

Source: http://thestandard.org.nz/mike-sabin-is-in-trouble/

Whilst almost everyone speculated on exactly what form the assault might have taken they all seemed to carefully avoid the potential for the allegations to have been sexual in nature, all except Slater that is who cleverly used not one but two inferences that the other bloggers who have reported on the case either don’t seem to have, or don’t want to, picked up on.

Then of course there is the breaking story itself, the Fairfax article written by journo David Lomas. Key points that perhaps dovetail with Slater’s subtle hints are found throughout the Fairfax piece. The first being that Lomas has endeavoured to obtain information and or comment from a “relative of the complainant”;

A relative of a complainant also would not comment. “I can’t say much mate, sorry,” he said. “I just don’t need the grief at the moment.”

The other key indicators are to be found in the way in which the police are dealing with the complaint and the National Party’s attempts to put some serious distance between itself and their own MP Mike Sabin’

Prime Minister John Key yesterday refused to comment, instead directing media queries to police. However, police also refused to confirm either receiving a complaint or any investigation into allegations against the former detective and anti-methamphetamine campaigner.

Nevertheless, the Herald understands senior Northland National Party figures have already been discussing potential candidates to replace him in the event of a by-election.

Party president Peter Goodfellow told the Herald National’s hierarchy was unaware of any allegations, historical or recent, against Mr Sabin before this year’s general election. He refused to comment further.

Pasting all of the above reactions together one is left in no doubt that the alleged assault is almost certainly sexual in nature and that being the case, the “repeat offending” points to the complainant likely being a young person or child.

Moreover if one takes the above into account the reaction of the so-called relative that David Lomas sought comment from would also show an emotional connection, not only between himself and the complainant but also the existence of some sort of relationship between himself and Sabin or perhaps other members of Sabin’s immediate family, a relationship that complicates the issue of the alleged repeated sexual assaults.

As with all assaults there is the issue of access to the victim or complainant, especially given the allegation of repeated or multiple assaults.

So who is the victim Sabin’s online profile gives us a clue:

“Mike Sabin is a 45 year old father and partner of Sandra Mickell, with each having 3 children in their blended family, living in the Doubtless Bay area of Northland”

Source: https://www.national.org.nz/team/mps/detail/mike.sabin

Another complicating factor in this saga is that Sabin’s eldest child, to his first marriage, is also a journalist. The New Zealand media is bad enough when it comes to corrupting the news but to be honest there is absolutely no way that David Lomas would not have been aware of the allegations when he approached the reluctant relative of the complainant. He had to have been. Lomas also had to have been aware of Sabin’s son Brook.

This then begs the question why didn’t Lomas name the alleged offending, or the plaintiff for that matter, he obviously had that information. Why did he need the police to confirm that there was in fact an investigation in progress. obviously, there was one underway, at least a complaint made, otherwise why did the “relative” say “I can’t say much mate, sorry,”…….”I just don’t need the grief at the moment.” or for that matter, in the alternative, the police confirm there was no compliant. Exactly what “grief” was the so-called “relative” actually referring too? Perhaps that which comes when your daughters have accused a stepfather of sexually propositioning or abusing them?

The way in which this has been dealt with, the speed with which Sabin’s been deserted by his National party mates, with absolutely none of mitigating statements of “due process” one would normally expect to hear from the likes of Peter Goodfellow all point to one thing and one thing only – that Sabin stands accused of child sexual offending, plain and simple. The police are keeping it all on the low-down as they would in the event of this type of allegation, as Sabin will automatically receive one of those name suppressions if he is in fact charged at the conclusion of the police investigation. Police will be doing there utmost to bury the complaint, they have invested far to much in getting Sabin to where he is, another cop in parliament.

The fact that Sabin’s otherwise politically supportive partner, local Hairdresser Sandra Mickell, is nowhere to be seen is also a dead give away. Had it been drugs, had it been common assault, had it even been MURDER, none could lay claim to both of Slater’s clues “repeat offending” that is “almost too horrible for words”. Nor for that matter would the National party be running for cover and looking for a new candidate. The police, well they would have simply confirmed that there was an investigation in progress, like they have on almost every other occasion where a politician’s been involved, instead of the buck passing and ducking and diving that’s been going on with Sabin.

The mainstream medias reaction has been somewhat similarly ambiguous, their normal zeal undoubtedly tempered perhaps by the many close personal relationships that the incestuous New Zealand industry players will undoubtedly have with Sabin’s eldest son, TV3 political journalist Brook Sabin.

As for Slater’s claim that the National party had known about the allegations for a month or more and said nothing, well that’s often par for the course when it comes to governments and police concealing paedophiles in their midst. In fact in a strange co-incidence Cameron Slater has in the last hour or so published a post on just that subject, “Paedophile MP’s”, another of Mr Slater’s ever so subtle hints perhaps?